I am Lazy and proud of it. So in all efforts to avoid trying to use the command line for rpm installs. Can someone tell me how I can remedy this problem.

I am using Redhat 9, and the only 3rd party rpm I have ever been able to install using the rpm installer was the MP3 plugin for XMMS. Everything else either says rpm alreay installed which is ok, or it looks like it installed 75% then just exits, without a message of whether it successfully installed or not. (most likely not), because if it did then if I try to install again it should say rpm already installed, which it does not, it just does the same 75% routine again.

Is there a better GUI rpm installer precompiled for Redhat 9 somewhere?

Is there an rpm installer that will re-compile rpms for your system automatically from src files?

Is there an rpm installer that will collect all required dependancies and install them for you too? (Will it tell you about conflicts or let you undo the install if there are problems?

How would I install it on my system if I can't use the default rpm installer?

I am slightly mift at the fact that I can't install anything other then want came on the Redhat CDs for packages. Even when I download from the Redhat Network their files don't even install?

Thanks all.

Nothsa

05-06-2003 03:27 PM

have you tried installing the packages from the console? ("rpm -ivh package.rpm" to install and "rpm -Uvh package.rpm" to upgrade)

Paul Parr

05-06-2003 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nothsa have you tried installing the packages from the console? ("rpm -ivh package.rpm" to install and "rpm -Uvh package.rpm" to upgrade)

I appreciate the help, and I'll probably try that but doesn't it defeat the purpose of even having a GUI rpm installer if I am forced to use the command line because the GUI interface won't work? :rolleyes:

Maybe this is a glitch in the program that only effects me for some reason? Is anyone else having the same problem with the rpm installer from Red Hat 9?

BTW I just thought of something.
Could the GUI rpm installer be having this problem because I logged into the system as a user other than "root"?
If so why doesn't the rpm installer tell me that or let me access the installer as root to do the install, instead of having to log out and log back in (if thats the case.)?

Franklin

05-06-2003 07:26 PM

In the short time that I used RH 8 I found that when you used a program that required root privileges, you were asked for the root password. Then root privileges were maintained for a period of time so that when you accessed another root program, you were already a superuser. (a small key icon stays in the system tray) I can't say I was happy with that.

I must say that I agree with you in regard to the GUI tools working - how should I say - inconsistently? When I started with linux 9 mos ago I was always looking for the GUI that would make my life easier. The simple truth is that the CLI commands just work. They work fast and they work well. It requires some reading and they're hard to remember at first but it's worth the effort. Plus the fact, once you learn how to do something in linux this way you can change distros and pretty much do everything you need without learning a whole new set of GUI tools;)

Paul Parr

05-06-2003 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Franklin In the short time that I used RH 8 I found that when you used a program that required root privileges, you were asked for the root password. Then root privileges were maintained for a period of time so that when you accessed another root program, you were already a superuser. (a small key icon stays in the system tray) I can't say I was happy with that.

I must say that I agree with you in regard to the GUI tools working - how should I say - inconsistently? When I started with linux 9 mos ago I was always looking for the GUI that would make my life easier. The simple truth is that the CLI commands just work. They work fast and they work well. It requires some reading and they're hard to remember at first but it's worth the effort. Plus the fact, once you learn how to do something in linux this way you can change distros and pretty much do everything you need without learning a whole new set of GUI tools;)

True, thanks

Genesee

05-07-2003 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Franklin The simple truth is that the CLI commands just work. They work fast and they work well. It requires some reading and they're hard to remember at first but it's worth the effort. Plus the fact, once you learn how to do something in linux this way you can change distros and pretty much do everything you need without learning a whole new set of GUI tools;)

:cool: exactly.

and once you get used to doing things that way, you will really hate the gui tools...

mhearn

05-07-2003 09:20 AM

GUI RPM support in redhat really does suck, apt (command line) and synaptic (gui) will resolve dependancies for you more easily.

Franklin

05-07-2003 12:31 PM

I can only comment on SuSE and RedHat.

The GUI RPM tools are, as far as I can tell, part of the KDE and Gnome environments and are not RH or SuSE tools per se. GnoRPM seemed to me to work the best of the two.

I think that these two (commercial) distros have made a deliberate choice to not provide a distro-supported tool to aid the end-user in installing packages that could, very easily, break the system. Otherwise, they might find themselves with the burden (financial and otherwise) of increased tech-support for actions they appear to have condoned by the inclusion of the tools to perform these actions.

The idea seems to be "If you choose our system, you choose our way of doing things - make changes if you like, just don't come crying to us when something stops working."

From a business standpoint I can't say I disagree with this logic, if it is indeed the case. With this in mind, they may very well feel that if someone is going to add something to the system, they should at least have enough understanding to "man rpm". Why help a newbie hang himself?

on the desktop you will see an icon named "parr's home" - you double click it. it will open a window that will show file in your home directory. find the rpm that you downloaded. once you see this file you will double click on it. you will be prompted for root password.

Paul Parr

05-07-2003 03:33 PM

"using redhat 8 or 9 probably means your defaulting to using gnome as your desktop environment, since your lazy you probably haven't tried kde."
:D
Nope using KDE...Lazy but not that Lazy.;)

However, you brought up an interesting point. I don't recall getting a root password prompt for installing rpms from the desktop in KDE. I'll have to check it later when I am at home. I'll get back to you on that.